Living the high life

But there is a great deal else at the splendidly decadent Pezula Resort Hotel, recently added to the Pezula Estate to give more itinerant guests a taste of life atop the Knysna Heads. It’s a life that has tempted Graeme Smith, Roger Federer and Nick Price to purchase land within the estate; even the sporting highlife, however, is unlikely to dull an appreciation of a superb new hotel, and an equally magnificent spa.

78 suites make up the accommodation, and it’s not just the massive marble baths that set the vast rooms apart. Rich, dark wood conceals a walk-in wardrobe en-route to a bathroom that boasts a large glassed shower, double showerheads offering a massage ideal to alleviate the stress of driving up from Cape Town on a road peppered with suicidal drivers (may the numbskull in the black BMW with KZN plates be confined to a lift with nothing but Celine Dion for company for weeks on end).

Rich, lush fabrics in muted reds and browns complement the sense of luxury, as does a bed you could get a rugby team into. Throw in a private balcony, a small but equipped kitchen (French champagne, red wine, Russian vodka — all the essentials, then), and a dreamy chaise longue built for two, and what possible reason could there be for ever leaving the confines of your suite?

Three good reasons
Well, three of them, actually, and all rather good ones at that. The first of those is the attraction that has brought so much passing trade to Pezula: a rather nice golf course. Under the direction of former Olympic gymnast and PGA golf professional Jeff Clause, a tower of genial bonhomie in an often staid and conservative world, golf at Pezula is world class. The course stands guard over the Knysna Lagoon on one side, and tumbles down to the cliffs of the Knysna Heads on the other; the course is surprisingly forgiving, but chances are you won’t notice as the splendour of the surrounds holds sway.

The second reason to leave the sanctuary of the suite is Zachary’s, the restaurant nestled on the ground floor of the hotel’s main complex. Having made his name in LA, and made the acquaintance of hotel manager Corinne Harrison whilst both were working in the Seychelles, chef Geoffrey Murray brings an edge of global cuisine to little Knysna, and spent three months wandering around the area when he first arrived sourcing local ingredients.

The results are outstanding. The menu changes daily depending on what’s in stock, and is matched by a wine list that can be rather intimidating at first glance, some steep vintages and imports sitting alongside a number of garagiste offerings. But a little perusal will turn up something for most; as will the menu.

Plenty of local seafood, including the famed Knysna oysters, heads a list that includes a wonderfully subtle five-spiced grilled quail, a roast onion and parmesan tartlette teeming with flavour, and a grilled kudu fillet with wild blueberries that underlines the international flair and local awareness that combine under Murray’s guidance at Zachary’s.

And the third reason to emerge from your suite? The delights of Pezula’s spa, a temple of wellness, tranquillity, and (if you’re not careful) a solid working over from a practised masseuse. The spa abounds in treatments, from body wraps to bikini waxes to microdermabrasion (polishing up your skin, in layman’s terms); it also includes a range of massage options, including the Phumla massage, which can be a gentle, soothing process if you opt for it as such, or a more rugged workout that gives the body a therapeutic battering.

Either way, it ends on a vibrating waterbed (already on my Christmas wish-list), and with pool, sauna, steam room (and the chance to feel like a jockey) and full gym completing the spa, it’s perfectly possible to while away the better part of a day being professionally pampered to your heart’s content.

The spa sits within the main hotel complex, playful geometry and plenty of glass supplemented by a thoughtful art collection, an eclectic library (Bill Bryson sitting alongside ‘The Life of Pi’), and a couple of chessboards for a little mental exertion. And throughout the restaurant, spa, golf course and hotel, a quiet excellence of service, from valet parking to warmth of welcome, operates as standard.

But golf course, restaurant or spa, the suites, with their gentle, sloping Eastern roofs (four to a building, all a pitching wedge from the main hotel, but with enough space to avoid feeling hemmed in), are hard to stay away from for too long. The Pezula Resort Hotel offers a level of luxury I’m prepared to live with; bring on another visit, and more glorious hours in the bath.

		Stay at Pezula Resort Hotel The Pezula Resort Hotel is situated near Knysna on the Garden Route, apporximately five hours drive from Cape Town on the N2 freeway. For more information visit the Pezula Resort Hotel website or contact the hotel on (044) 302 3410.